Nancy Drew: The Case of the Midnight Riddle
by Ivy Meshle
Summary: Mr. Henderson wants to buy a forest in Riverdale to sell off as a set for movies. Unfortunately this forest is being protected by Nancy's father. To get even, Mr. Henderson sends Nancy riddles to lead her on a wild goose chase where he then traps her!
1. Chapter I

**Nancy Drew: The Case of the Moonlight Riddle**

Chapter I

Drew vs. Henderson

Young and beautiful Nancy Drew awoke one morning to the smell of buttermilk pancakes and the sound of bacon sizzling on the skillet. Nancy had titan blonde hair and blue eyes as icy as the winter, yet as welcoming as a warm breeze on a spring day.

She carefully eased herself out of her bed and headed for the shower. Nancy had a big day ahead of her. Today she was going with her father to court to watch him fight for the Riverdale forest to be named a preserve because of its historical significance.

The forest was once a Native American Tribes sacred burial ground back when Columbus discovered America and her father had evidence to prove this was indeed a fact. Her father, Mr. Carson Drew, the famous and esteemed lawyer believed it should be protected and kept in its natural glory, whereas his opponent, Mr. Henderson, wanted to buy the woods and rent them out as sets for movies. He believed the woods possessed nothing extraordinary and felt that we would be wasting money by protecting them, when they obviously are nothing special. Unbeknownst to the court, he was fighting to buy the forest only because he thought it would be an easy money maker.

Nancy emerged from the shower dripping wet and squeaky clean. Grabbing her towel, she dried off on her maroon bathroom rug and entered her bedroom with her towel wrapped securely around her.

Today she needed to be comfortable, yet still look like a professional for today was the day she would get to work alongside her father as his paralegal. Nancy finally decided on a pair of white Russian trousers with gold buttons in front. She then picked out an orange sherbet button down blouse with white polka dots and buttons to tuck into her trousers. The shoes she decided on were white casual heels that covered her toes. She then combed her hair and styled it to curl on the bottom and added a simple white headband to finish off the look.

Nancy then escaped to her vanity table to add on a simple gold chain necklace to clasp around her visible bronze neck. She then added some carnation pink eye makeup and blush. Nancy then completed her makeup by adding rosy red lipstick and bounded downstairs for breakfast.

Hannah Gruen, the Drew's housekeeper, had just finished taking the breakfast off the stove when Nancy glided in. Hannah had been the Drew's housekeeper since back when Nancy was a little girl and her mother had passed away. Now Hannah was treated as a part of the family and was the motherly figure of Nancy's life. Hannah also took the responsibilities of a mother and worried sick about Nancy when she was working on a case.

Just as Nancy finished situating herself at the table, her father, Carson Drew, walked in looking as charming as a king. He was dressed up in his usual black court pants and jacket with his white button down shirt and his chestnut brown hair freshly slicked back. He carried his briefcase with him and set it down as he sat at the table. Just as he touched the seat, he received a chirpy "Hello" from Nancy.

"Why good morning Nancy dear," Mr. Drew exclaimed. "Are you ready for the big day ahead of us?"

"You bet Dad!" Nancy proclaimed.

"That's my girl. Eat up; you will need all the energy you can get. Mr. Henderson is a tough man to beat and he will stop at nothing to get more money. We need our wits about us and cannot be snoozing on the job."

"I know dad. I am a responsible young adult. If I wasn't, would you have picked me to be your paralegal?"

"I guess not," Mr. Drew admitted.

"Exactly," Nancy declared.

"Just how much sleep did you get last night?" Mr. Drew enquired while trying to switch the subject.

"About 10 hours. Why?"

"I only slept for about 4 because I was up all night putting the finishing touches to my argument. If I start looking like I am about to conk out on shoulder, please do look for some un-obnoxious yet successful way to keep me awake."

"Okay," Nancy joked. "I will be sure to poke you with a pin so you wake up the sleeping people with your shrill scream."

Just as the Drew's were finishing up eating, Hannah walked in with the mail.

"Nancy," Hannah proclaimed. "There is a letter here addressed to Miss. Nancy Drew, but it doesn't have a return address on it. I wonder whom it came from. Open it quickly before you have a chance to leave and forget about it."

"Trust me Hannah, nothing smells more like a mystery tan a letter addressed to me with no return label," Nancy joked.

Nancy then opened the letter and quizzically read it out loud to her father and Hannah Gruen.


	2. Chapter II

**Nancy Drew: The Case of the Moonlight Riddle**

Chapter II

The Mysterious Letter

"Why it doesn't make any sense," Nancy explained. "It sounds like pure gibberish and I am completely dumb founded as to what it could be."

"Let me have a look at it Nancy dear."

"Of course you may, Hannah!"

"Ah, I see. It is a riddle meant to stump you. I would best be careful when solving this riddle if I were you. It may be a trap. It isn't everyday you receive a riddle like this in the mail."

"Hannah, why are you so certain it is a riddle?"

"It has all the makings of one sweetie. It makes no sense when you think about it logically, and as you said so yourself, it leaves you completely dumb founded so that you don't even know which way to begin thinking to figure it out. It can take up to a minute to up to a day to figure out a riddle and it is obvious this one wasn't meant to be easy," Hannah explained, all the while wringing her hands on her apron with creases of worry forming on her brow.

"But, what could it mean when it says: **There is one thick green house. Inside the green house is one thin white house. Inside the white house is one very large red house. The red house is filled with many tiny black houses. What am I?** It is just so confusing that I don't even know which way to begin trying to figure it out."

"Then that means that it is time to clear your head of such nonsense and get ready for your appearance in court," Mr. Drew hastily explained. "In court, one mustn't show their feelings because it is their feelings that give everything away."

"You are right father. I mustn't let this bother me. I do know just how important this is to you and it is vital that we win."

"That's my girl. Now let's have a quick overview of what you are supposed to say. First on your agenda is to introduce yourself to the court as my paralegal. After they call our names both of us are to rise in the order that we were called. After that you are to sit until the judge or I call on you to produce the evidence that was collected, and inform me if you suspect anything fishy is going on or if the voting is rigged."

"That sounds simple enough. What time do we leave?"

"8:00 a.m. sharp. We shall be on time and not a minute before or after. If we are lucky, we will be able to leave at 5:30 p.m."

"What will we be having for dinner, Hannah?"

"Your father and I will be having beef pot roast, a fresh loaf of Italian bread, and an apple pie for dessert. You on the other hand received a call from Ned last night, and I took the liberty of telling him you would meet him at his fraternity house tonight at 7:00 p.m. to go for a walk around the lake and have dinner at one of the fancy restaurants by the lake. I do hope you will go or I will look mighty foolish."

"Of course I will go but only under two conditions. First, it is okay with my father."

"You have my consent. There is no man in the entire world I would trust more than Ned to keep you safe if you were in danger. He has proved himself to be very helpful in the past many times."

"Second," Nancy continued, "We have to get back in time for me to shower and change."

"We will try our best to hurry along home just as soon as it is over."

"Then the only problem is what I will wear."

"I do believe you just bought a new dazzling white summer dress with a powder blue sash just last weekend, Nancy."

"Right you are Hannah. I will add a pearl necklace, matching blue heels and a warm white cardigan to finish off the look. I will then style my hair in a bun in case we are going dancing again. We both love to dance and each date we go on, we end up dancing."

"Well, well, well, would you look at the time. We must go now or we will be late. All this talk about clothes and dancing has really taken your minds off the time girls," Mr. Drew joked.

"I will start the car while you grab the paperwork and the evidence from your office."

"Good luck! Farewell!" Hannah called after them as they pulled out of the driveway.

So Carson Drew and his detective daughter Nancy set off the courthouse prepared and ready for battle.

"The court recognizes Mr. Carson Drew and his paralegal Ms. Nancy Drew. Mr. Drew, please send your paralegal up to the podium to reinstate your side of the dispute."

"Good luck, Nancy."

"We have found promising evidence in the forest," Nancy began, "that our archeologists dug up. Here is a tom-tom base. These were used and made by Native Americans to make music during burial ceremonies. I believe it is an original because, the leather on the base is very bluntly cut and the pieces were woven together with the bark of a Cypress tree. These trees are currently not part of our forest because they were relocated, although there are signs in the soil that show that they were once a part of this forest."

"The court recognizes Mr. Jeff Henderson and his paralegal Ms. Anna Henderson."

"We have found lots of evidence in the forest and none of it is good," Anna sneered. "I have only found trash and empty bottles. This forest is only a teen hangout, and if it were to be sold to us, we would put the forest to good use and make a profit out of it. The money would be split three ways. One-third would go to me and Jeff, one-third would go to our companies employees, and the final third would go to Riverdale for kindly listening to us and doing what is right by allowing us to buy up the forest that is just a waste of money and a strain on their resources to keep clean and tidy."

"The court recognizes both arguments and will meet again at a later date. Jury dismissed."

By the time Nancy and her father had gotten home, it was time for Nancy to hop in the shower. She scrubbed her hair clean and put on her dazzling new dress with her heels and cardigan, and styled her hair into a neat and tidy bun. She then kissed her father and Hannah goodbye, careful not to smudge her makeup and finally climbed into her little blue roadster and drove to Ned's fraternity house, all the while pondering about the riddle she had received just this morning.

"**There is one thick green house. Inside the green house is one thin white house. Inside the white house is one very large red house. The red house is filled with many tiny black houses. What am I?**"

"I wonder what it could be?" thought Nancy as she drove on into the sunset.


End file.
